Amazing Stuff

Something from my devotionals:

"We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord's life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others."

Pretty good stuff. I think it's funny to think of this as a "religious" age, but it seems like most of the people who consider themselves "secular", or "irreligious", or even "pagan" are putting their religious faith in something. It may not look or feel like religion as we've understood it all along, but it is predicated on a lot of the same kinds of relationships and rituals that an anthropologists would classify as religion.

My responsibility times this week have been places of change. EE was powerful-- two people made a profession of faith. I'm tempted to be disappointed that only one person came to Mustard Seed fellowship, but the the time we spent together was an unqualified success. I mean, just incredible. Same with Sunday School. It was a crafts activity. Anyone who knows my heart knows that i hate crafts. But... there it was. Effective. I gained a lot of insight into what's going on in the hearts of my kids. They're way more complex, and respond way better to praise and encouragement, than i had previously thought.

I also nerded out, and played CCG's at the Glendale hobby league. Geez. I got pounded into the ground so many times. I bought a stack of comics, though. I think i'm becoming a little bit of a fanboy-- i'm starting to recognize authors' names, and branching out into new stuff just because of name recognition. Nerdy.